She Runs with Wolves
by FriedPeaches
Summary: Barney Ross and his team take a job and instead of simply taking out a target, they find a girl who has been hostage for over two weeks. So many questions buzzed through Barney's head when he finds her beaten and scared. Who is she? And more importantly, why is she so important to the man they're after? OC/?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 - Mia

Of all the ways for this job to go, it had to happen like this.

Barney Ross's face was pressed against the cold concrete wall and his hands were tied together. Like an awkward weight, he lifted his head from the wall to sit in an upright position. It didn't take long for his head to start pounding at a slow and agonizing drumming tempo. To take a grasp of reality was more difficult than he originally thought to be. The smell of mildew and dirty water filled his nostrils. Together, the two smelled like old, stale cigarettes. The room he was in was dark and barely lit with a single light bulb hanging from the decaying ceiling. The sounds of dripping water, and scurrying rats made his head buzz. The light bulb above grew into doubles. His black shirt was faintly damp with sweat while his military tactical vest was unzipped. In search of his gun, Barney's eyes trailed down to his waist. His favorite single action army was missing from its holster.

He shook his head before taking in his surroundings.

It was a surprise when Barney found a girl in the same room with him. Only about six feet away, laid a girl with fair amber hair. Her back was facing him, which made Barney unable to see her face. Blood stained her hair, and just like him, her hands were bound together. Barney wondered how long she had been down here and even if she was still alive. He couldn't tell if she was breathing or not.

Right across the room from Barney, a metal door suddenly swung open with a long groan before hitting the concrete wall. Barney saw the girl's finger twitch as a man walked into the room. He gritted his teeth when he saw it was a man working for Pressmen, the man who Barney and his team were after. This sleaze ball's name was Quinn. His body type was most definitely body builder as he stood at 6'2". He had an army buzz and a little bit of scruff as facial hair.

Quinn didn't say a word as he headed straight to the girl. "Good to see you again," Barney grumbled, trying to direct Quinn's attention from her. Like before, Quinn didn't speak. He reached the girl just as she was starting to stir. Barney pulled at the rope that held his hands, however it kept him at bay. She rolled on her back and then over to her other side. She was now facing him. Her skinny jeans were torn at the knees and the white wife beater was stained with dirt and her own blood. Her nose was clearly broken and bruised while the skin just underneath her eyebrow was split – causing blood to dribble and dry down the side of her face.

Quinn pulled out a hunting knife and cut the rope that tied her hands together. Letting her arm's drop heavily on the ground, Quinn noticed her blue eyes began to sluggishly open. Just as her eyes fell upon Barney, Quinn kicked her hard in the face. Her head snapped back just before she held her face in her hands. She let out an agonizing sob and blood oozed through her fingers as she continued to hold her face. "Morning, sweetheart," Quinn chuckled and snatched her up by a chunk of her hair. Her soiled, light pink converse kicked at the dirt before she stood on her feet. A hunting knife was pressed against the girl's swollen cheek and she froze.

"Quinn, don't do it," Barney warned and the both of them looked at him.

Quinn was smiling while the girl's eyes were stained with fear.

"Barney, Barney…tsk. Tsk," he began and pulled the girl closer to him. "Didn't you ever think you might fail a job at some point?" The man shook his head.

Barney shrugged, trying to hide his worry for the girl. "Eh, maybe." Barney's eyes stayed fixed on Quinn and the knife.

"You might want to say your goodbyes to Mia. Time is just about up for her," he told Barney and hugged himself against Mia.

Suddenly without warning, the concern in Barney's brown eyes disappeared. Quinn noticed this and before he knew it, Christmas had thrown one of this favorite kunai into the back of his head.

Quinn's body jerked stiffly before falling to the ground; releasing the girl. Mia jumped at the sight of the knife that was stuck in the man's head. Christmas jogged to Barney to cut him loose. "Looks like I had to save your ass _again_," Christmas joked and Barney shook his head with a smile playing on his lips. "We've got to get out of here. There are 7 blocks of C-4 just below us. It's set to blow in four minutes." Barney turned away from his friend and to the girl who was still standing next to Quinn. Christmas's eyes followed Barney's and they both watched her stare down at the body. The girl looked rough to Christmas. Not only was there already blood from the wound under her eyebrow and her bleeding nose, her cheekbone was badly swollen while the rest of her round face was colored with purple and red due to bruising.

Barney was the one to step forward first and she took a step back with an unsure expression. "It's okay. We're not going to hurt you. You're name is Mia, right?" She didn't say anything but nod. Barney knew questions were useless at the moment with C-4 just underneath their feet. "Okay, we've got to go," he began, walking towards her. Christmas followed behind him. "There are explosives on the floor below us. We have to leave now." Panic spread across her face. "Can you walk?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said, speaking for the first time. Her voice was shaky and quiet. Barney's head was still buzzing with questions he wanted to ask her. Who are you? What did Pressmen want from her? How long have you been here?

"Alright, let's go." Barney said reaching her. The top of her head reached his shoulder and that's when he realized how tiny she really was. She was maybe 5'2" and couldn't have weighed more than 110 lbs. Him and Christmas turned to quickly head towards the door, but Mia stopped them.

"Wait," she said gently and turned to her right. There was a desk with a backpack on it. She quickly snatched it and Barney's gun that lay next to it. She came back to them. "Is this your's?"

Barney smiled and thanked her when she handed the gun to him.

Christmas and Barney led the way out a door and down a hallway. After a minute of running, Barney noticed Mia lagging behind. She was holding her side as small beads of sweat decorated the skin on her face. "Slow down," Barney told Christmas and the two of them slowed down their running.

"We don't have long," Christmas urged and Barney nodded.

Barney ran towards the girl. He knew she was in a lot pain by the look on her face and the blood from her nose was still dripping. The last thing he wanted was for her to lose consciousness during their escape. "Come on," he softly said and picked her up in his arms. She wrapped arms around his neck and hid her face in the crook of his neck. The two men were booking it down the last bit of the hallways as time was running out.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 – The Team

Christmas and Barney were in full sprint when they exited the building. They hit the dirt as soon as they went over a large embankment of soil to escape the blast and debris. The two men tumbled in different directions and Mia went toppling with Barney through the tall grass. Mia's body silently cried out the each time their bodies bounced against the ground before coming to a sudden stop. Barney rolled himself over Mia's body and she clung to his vest. Mia's world was spinning. She had no idea who these men were but they saved her life. Barney and his friend, complete strangers, were putting theirselves in harms way to save her. There was no reason not to trust them. Barney laid on her, tucking his head next to hers, and covered both of their heads with his arms. The explosion from the C-4 was loud and a small shock wave kicked up dirt and small pieces of rubble fell onto the both of them.

Once it fell quiet, Barney popped his head up and scouted his surroundings before he climbed to his feet. Mia laid on her back with her arms over her chest, breathing heavily. Barney shook his head, sending dirt in the air. He turned to his left and then barked, "Christmas! You good?"

A British voice called from the distance, shouting, "Yeah! You good?"

"I'm fine!"

"How's the girl?"

Barney turned to her and stuck out his hand for her to grab. "You okay?"

Mia didn't say anything as she reached out to grab the hand. There was this soft ring in her ears as she stumbled to her feet with Barney's aid. Barney held her wrist with one hand and while the other had her bicep. The ring became suddenly louder and the setting sun in the distance became brighter. Barney watched the girl struggle to pull herself out of a daze. He knew she was shell-shocked. As he held her up, she blinked rapidly before focusing on Barney. "Mia?"

"I'm okay," she whispered and her eyes trailed up to Christmas as Barney let go of her. Christmas reached the two and was also covered with dirt.

"We need to find the others," Barney spoke and Christmas agreed. Barney turned to Mia. "We're going to get you out of here, but we first have to meet back up with my team." Mia nodded, understanding. She didn't bother brushing off any of the dirt as she followed the two men into the surrounding woods. Again, she struggled to keep up with the men, but Barney knew that he couldn't carry her the whole way back. It was going to be at least a three-mile walk before they would reach where their team agreed to meet back up at. They'll just have to lose some time because of Mia's injuries.

It took them an hour and a half before Barney finally saw three familiar figures sitting on a fallen tree. Christmas waved at the rest of their team. All of them were surprise to see a woman with her arm around Barney's shoulder – holding most of her weight up. "You guys okay?" Caesar asked, as he and Toll were the first to reach them.

"We're fine, but she's hurt," Barney said wearily and Caesar picked her up from his tired comrade. Mia didn't say anything as the man carried her back where they were sitting. He gently placed her in front of the tree and she sat, watching him grab a first aid kit from his backpack. The rest of the team was talking to Barney and Christmas or glancing at the newcomer. It made Mia nervous when she couldn't hear what they were talking about.

"What's your name?" the man asked when he returned with medical supplies, making her jump. He paused before he started to wipe away the blood on her face.

"Mia Brooks," she replied and let him tend to her wounds.

"I'm Caesar." Caesar watched Mia stay quiet besides the occasional grunts of pain as he stitched up her eyebrow. He then pointed out who was who on the team to her. In totally there, were five men on their team. They were in a small clearing in the woods as the heat and humidity seeped into the heavy air. Mia started to feel queasy. "I have to reset your broken nose," he said, setting down the bloody rag. She let out a shaky breath and nodded.

Barney observed Caesar reset Mia's broken nose. The cartilage crunched and popped when he applied pressure to both sides of her nose. Tears formed in her eyes and she squeezed her jeans. She looked pale and exhausted. When Caesar was done, she cursed underneath her breath. Barney grab a canteen of water and brought it to the woman. She quickly thanked him before taking a couple of gulps of water. "How long where you held captive?" he asked.

Mia took another gulp of water before answering, "I don't know." She handed him the canteen back. "I tried to keep track of the number of sunsets to count the days, but they would blindfold me or keep me in a dark room." Leaning her back against the tree, Mia took a couple of deep breaths. "I don't even remember how I got there," she told them and Barney squatted in front of her.

"Does the name Pressmen ring any bells?" Christmas asked over Barney's shoulder and Mia shook her head.

None of this made sense to Barney. What would Pressmen need her for? "Did they ever say anything to you?"

"They kept asking me where my camera was," she replied. "But, I couldn't tell them where it was. I can't even remember the night before I woke up there. I have no idea where it is." Mia shifted uncomfortably. "They kept beating me when I couldn't give them the right answers."

"A camera?" Caesar spoke up and sat on the fallen tree. He was wiping his slightly bloody hands with a rag.

Mia nodded and turned to Barney. "I'm a photographer."

"What kind of photographer?"

"I do any kind of photography actually, but my last shoot was in Puerto Rico for a wedding."

Barney's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Puerto Rico?"

And again, she nodded.

Pressmen was like seen in Puerto Rico almost two weeks ago. A couple of days ago, Barney and his team stumbled on a lead to this location. She's probably been held hostage for at least a week and a half. "Where are we? The last thing I remember is being in Puerto Rico," she told the men and Barney stood to his feet.

"We're in Tate's Hell State Forest in Florida."

Mia looked at the man in shock with her mouth open. "I'm back in the states?"

Barney didn't know what to say to her. He was just as confused as she was. They were nowhere closer to finding Pressmen and now they had another mystery to solve.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 - Free

Mia sat off to the side as the five men talked among themselves, trying to gather a plan together. The sun was beginning to set and she wondered how they were going to get out of the state park at night time. This was the first moment of relief for her. She was finally out of that hell hole. What a weird feeling…to be free again. There were times when Mia never thought she would make it out of there alive. She was thrown in the world of confusion and pain. What pictures had she taken to be captured? She pressed her palm against the side of her throbbing head. Her normal and simple life was gone and now she didn't know what was going to happen next. Would the men keep coming after her? Will she have to be on the run for the rest of her life? Where was she going to end up?

Tears threatened to spill over her cheeks as she lightly ran her fingers over a cigarette burn that the men had given her. Their laughs echoed through her head and violent memories painted her mind like a coffee stain on white linen. Mia swallowed hard and tried to push out the memories.

Barney pulled himself away from the group once they decided what to do. He made his way to Mia as the rest of the team gathered their things. "We're going to hike the last three miles tonight. We need to get my plane off the coast. Caesar is going to carry you on his back. We need to get out of here as quickly as possible," he explained to her. "We'll figure out what's going on back in New Orleans."

Mia raised an eyebrow. "What's in New Orleans?"

"A tattoo parlor. It's a friend of mine. You'll be safe there." He glanced over his shoulder and saw all of them were ready to go. "I'll explain everything when I can, but we have to get you out of here first."

She nodded and got up from where she was sitting. Barney trailed behind her when they began walking towards the group. Her hand was on her side, holding it. It was easy for him to guess that her ribs may be broken. Part of him was curious about her days being captive. Hopefully there was a clue to where Pressman was going next and what evidences he was trying so hard to get rid of. The other part of him also worried about what they had done to her.

Once Mia settled herself on Caesar's back, she was asked to stay quiet since Barney was unsure if there were any of Pressman's men in the area. The only thing that could be heard was the nighttime wildlife, like crickets or loud cicadas, and their boots crunching through the brush. Their flashlights shined through the foggy air as the humidity made her clothes cling to her skin.

Mia forced herself to stay away during the couple hour walk. She felt like she would pass out any minute from exhaustion, but Mia forced herself to stay awake. She didn't pay any attention when they arrive at the plane. She could tell it was a very large plane, but that was the extent of it. It was too dark to see and their flashlights only lit up so much. Mia also didn't care that much. She just wanted to get out of here.

After the long hike, Caesar let Mia off his back and pointed to one of the seats that had straps connected to the wall of the plane. "Go ahead. Strap in," Caesar told her and she did what she was told in silence. The straps went over her head and clasped over the chest. Mia quickly began tightening them as the plane rumbled to life. Within five minutes they were in the air and cigar smoke filled the air. Barney was in the cockpit with Christmas.

Mia quietly listened to the men began to chat with each other as her eyes began to feel heavy. It wasn't long before she fell asleep, leaning her head back against the metal wall.

"How's she doing?" Barney asked, glancing away from the windshield. Christmas looked over his shoulder to see the young woman fast asleep. Her body was slightly turned so she could rest the side of her head against the wall.

"She's asleep," Christmas replied and brought his gaze back to the front of the plane.

"Figures," Barney muttered.

Both of them fell quiet for a moment. The only sounds to be heard were the engine's humming and quiet chatter in the back of the plane.

Christmas spoke up again after he opened a beer. "What do you think is on her camera?"

Barney shrugged. "Nothing good probably."

The bald British man rolled his eyes. "No, shit," he threw back at Barney. Again, they went silent for a minute or two. "How do we go about this? With the girl, I mean."

Barney took a drag of his cigar before replying. "I'm not sure. We don't usually deal with hostage. And we can't involve the police. There's obviously a rat in the local police force and we can't tip them off. She needs to stay hidden for now." He brought up his fingers up to the corners of both eyes and rubbed the sleep away. Just like Mia, Barney was exhausted and was ready to get some rest. "Tomorrow morning, we'll get back together and try to figure this out. I need some sleep."

Christmas agreed and finished off his beer. "Yeah. Let's get home."

A couple hours later, they arrived back home - just before midnight. They made good time considering the situation. Barney shook Mia's shoulder and her eyes squinted open. Her blue eyes were bloodshot and the color of her dark circles matched the bruises she wore. "We're here," he told her gently. She nodded once and fumbled with the straps. Unbuckling it, she slipped out. This was the first time Barney noticed how small she really was. Barney knew he wasn't the tallest guy, but he still towered over her by almost a foot. He held his hand out and she took it. As she stood, he felt her body tremble. Barney picked up the woman in his arms and went to carry her out. He knew she was at her physical limit when she began to shake and the daze look she had in her eyes.

There was no protest from Mia as she laid her head against his shoulder. Barney wasn't even sure if she would remember being carried in. Her breathing became slow again and he knew she was back asleep. Barney couldn't help but sneak glances at her bruised and burned body. Her hair still had blood in it too.

When he walked to Tool's tattoo shop, he was greeted by a confused expression. "What happened?" Tool asked and set down his pen onto his sketch pad.

"I'll explain in a minute. I need you bring me up to your loft. She needs somewhere to sleep," Barney said and Tool nodded. He followed Barney into the elevator. Christmas watched to the two of them disappear after Tool pressed the button to the second floor. He plopped into a nearby chair and began to take off his tactical gear with heavy arms.

Barney was right. It was probably best they all got a good night of rest before planning their next step in this shit storm.

* * *

Author's note: Sorry for a short chapter! The next chapter will be longer! Please let me know what you think so far about the story.

Thanks!

_~FriedPeaches_


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 - Going Back

"So are you going to tell me what happened?" Tool asked Barney after they reentered the elevator. Now that Mia was out of ear's reach, Barney began the story from the beginning. It was just him and Tool once they reached the bottom. Barney knew everyone probably left to get some rest before tomorrow. By the end of the story, both men had a beer and cigar in their hands. "So what's the next move?"

Barney shrugged. "We need to bag Pressman, but we've been on a goose chase for almost four weeks. He's keeping his head low and staying out of public view." He rubbed his eyes and sighed. Irritation bubbled under his skin. He wasn't even able to answer Tool's question.

"Are you staying here tonight?" Tool asked.

"Yeah," Barney replied and glanced back at the elevator. "I'll keep an eye on her tonight. We have no idea what's Pressman's next move."

Tool patted him on the shoulder when he stood up from one of the bar stools. "Then go crash on the couch in the loft. But please, before laying on my couch, take a shower. You smell like shit."

Barney chuckled and set down his empty beer. "Yeah, sleep sounds like a good idea."

.

Barney quietly walked across the loft, trying his best to be quiet. Mia soundly slept underneath the dark comforter with her mouth slightly open. Her chest rose and fell deeply and slowly. For the first time in a while, Barney knew she could sleep feeling safe.

Once he showered and got into some clean clothes, he silently slipped back into the room. He fell onto the couch and quietly groaned with satisfaction. His body ached and the cushions were a welcoming feeling. Before he knew it, sleep took over him.

.

Even though Mia's body was exhausted, her mind still refused to rest. Her dreams were filled with memories of torture and the hands that invaded her personal space and skin. Fingers tickled her cheek as a hand lightly stroked it. Then there was men's laughter. The single light bulb that hung from the decaying ceiling glowed through the dark. No daylight entered the room she was forced to stay in. There were days they turned of that light, drowning her in darkness. For most people, the darkness alone could make you go mad, but for Mia, it was a safe haven. It was the only time she was left alone for a couple days. Mia was finally able to get a break from the abuse so she welcomed the dark.

Her cries would echo off the dirt walls. After week one, she grew tired of crying herself to sleep and would simply invite any type of slumber. It was the only way to escape that place. She never got to sleep deeply or comfortably. Most of the time she was either tied up on a chair or sleeping on the dirt floor. She never got used to the bugs or rats though. Every night, they would crawl over her as she slept.

Mia hovered in and out of a deep sleep that night as her mind replayed the memories.

.

Even though it was less than five hours later, he woke up before dawn - just as the night blue sky starts to lighten with the morning sun. A few birds already could be heard from outside the windows. He rubbed the corner of his eyes when he sat up. Letting out a silent yawn, he shook his head to wake himself up more.

He got off the couch and grabbed the red plaid shirt that he fished out of the closet last night. Just as he was leaving the dark room, Barney accidentally kicked the leg of a chair - making it slide loudly against the hardwood floor. Mia shot up in bed and looked for the source of noise. "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up," he apologized with his hands up. Mia's face was distorted with panic at first, but then she recognized his voice and the outline of his body.

"Oh," she replied quietly. "It's fine. I wasn't sleeping that well anyways."

Barney stuck his hands into the pockets of his jeans. "Nightmares?" he guessed and Barney watched her dimly lit head nod. "Figures. Adjusting back to a normal setting can be…difficult. Especially after everything," he tried to explain.

Again, she simply nodded. "Yeah. I had guessed that." They fell silent for a moment. Barney had no idea what to say to her. "Is it okay if I shower? It's been a while…"

He turned on a lamp near the bathroom door and pointed. "Yeah, sure. Go right ahead. Everything you need is in there. Towels are under the cabinet."

Mia sheepishly glanced down to her dirty clothes after she climbed out of bed. "What do I do about my clothes?" Color reddened her cheeks. "I don't mean to be a bother."

"Don't worry about it. We'll get you some, but for now I'll try to find something for you to bum around in," he told her. "I'll leave them on the bed."

Mia entered the bathroom and before she closed the door, she paused. "Thank you. You know, for everything," she shyly said with color still on her freckled cheeks. "I don't know what I would have done- or what they would have done if I hadn't escaped."

Barney nodded and let a crooked smile play on his lips. "It's what we do. We're just doing our job."

"Just because it's your job doesn't mean it doesn't make you any less of a hero. So, thank you again."

There really wasn't anything Barney could say. He simply nodded and replied, "When you're done, just come down to the first floor. We'll be eating breakfast." Barney watched her close the door after she agreed to meet him down stairs.

This Mia was a mystery. She was shy and passive, but yet there was a spark of confidence and strong mentality. That's probably the reason why she made it through those two weeks being held captive.

He went to Tool's dresser and began to search for anything that would fit her.

Mia peeled her clothes off and hopped into the hot water. Ah, she missed this. Snatching the bar of soap and washcloth, Mia went to work scrubbing off the layers of dirt, filth, and blood. Her face was still very tender and she tried her best to clean around the wounds.

Her achy muscles began to relax and she sat on the bottom of the tub. The water ran over her head as she closed her eyes. She hoped for the water to drown her thoughts.

When Mia was finished showering, she cautiously peered out the bathroom and saw that the loft was empty. On the bed were a pair of black sweatpants and a burgundy red tshirt. Once she was dressed and got her converse back on, Mia placed her clothes next to the small trash bin that was in the loft. She then eyed the elevator shaft.

She paused at the thought of the men down stairs. They were trained killers and she was somehow involved in their world now. Those facts kind of scared her.

She went from a normal photographer to being wanted by a mafia-like group.

__Life is wild.__ Mia thought as her heart began to race.

__And I'm wondering what's next for me…__

.

Barney, Tool, and Christmas were at the breakfast table together. They slowly ate their food and talked among themselves. "So, any ideas about the girl?" Christmas asked before slipping eggs into his mouth.

"I may need to finish my coffee before answering that question," Barney commented jokingly. "But yeah, I think I may have an idea."

The elevator roared to life and down came Mia. The clothes she wore were pretty big on her petite body and that's when Barney was reminded how small she was. She cautiously stepped out of the elevator and smiled.

"Hey," she nervously greeted.

Christmas nodded. "Morning," he responded and tried not to keep his eyes lingering on her bruised face for too long. The color had time to fully set in after what Quinn had done to her yesterday. She wore bruising on her nose that continued onto her freckled cheeks. Her skin was split under her left black eye. Then there were the cigarette burns on her arms...

Her amber hair were in damp waves and her arms were crossed over her chest. She looked uncomfortable as the three men's attentions were on her.

Christmas was then pulled out of his thoughts by Tool's voice. "Come make yourself some breakfast," he invited Mia and motioned towards the small kitchen behind them. There was a fridge, stove, a few cabinets for storage, and a sink. It was a very tiny kitchen (If you can call it that). There was a hot coffee pot on the counter. That's when it hit Mia. Wow, she didn't realize how much she had missed coffee.

It smelled like heaven.

She grabbed a mug from the cabinet and poured herself a a cup. After putting a spoonful of sugar in the coffee, she took a sip. It was very hot but she didn't care. It felt __normal__. She needed something normal.

Mia glanced up and grinned."Thank you. Coffee's great."

Tool nodded. "No problem. You deserve a cup of coffee after those couple of weeks," he lightly joked.

To Barney's surprise, Mia chuckled. "Maybe something a little stronger later, but yes, coffee is a reward at this point." Her eyes shifted from Barney down to the cup as she took another sip. "So, we need to go back to Puerto Rico for my camera, right?"

Christmas smirked at the young woman. "That was going to be my suggestion."

"Same," Barney said and took another bite out of his buttered toast. "I was going to talk to you this morning about that. We were just about to start making a plan."

"I know there's something on my camera that's really important to y'all's mission, so…" Mia shrugged. Barney noticed her southern twang that slipped through and guessed her to be from the neighboring states of Louisiana. "I would rather all of this be over with, because I really don't want to get shot." There was a hint of tremble in her voice, but it was there for only a second or two.

Barney paused for a moment before responding her. "Do you know where your camera is?"

She shook her head. "No, but I'm hoping if I go back to the hotel, maybe something will trigger a memory. I know I was drugged at the party that took place after the wedding. I was their photographer. I can't remember how the night ended though or the day or two after that. I know I had my camera over my shoulder during the party."

"You said they kept asking about your camera?" Barney questioned and she nodded.

"They searched your room at the hotel for sure so it can't be there," Christmas added.

Barney turned back to Mia."Where else could have you put it?"

"I don't know. I've tried to remember, but it's all hazy at the moment," Mia explained and then frowned. "Trust me, I wish I could just tell you where it was."

Barney hated the idea of her having to go back. Not just because of possible psychological damage to her, but also the fact she would be a liability. She's a civilian and would also slow down the team like last time. But Mia was literally the only lead they had at that moment.

"We'll try to make it quick as possible. Maybe a night or two. Christmas and I will take her there and keep a low profile. Then we'll fly you out whether we find the camera or not."

Her eyebrows creased together out of confusion. "But you need the camera…"

"We'll have to see how you're doing mentally at that point," he explained cautiously. "I do not want this to become a situation that's going to do more harm than good. We have to be careful."

Christmas agreed with Barney and two began to plan for their departure early tomorrow morning. Mia silently listened to the two men talk, taking in what events lied ahead for her.

There were moments of flickering memories of green palms, bouquets of exotic flowers, appetizers, white lace, and red wine. All of this scared Mia. Her world had been turned upside down and no matter how much she prayed for herself to wake up in her bed at home, it never happened. This nightmare wasn't over yet and she knew it had only just begun.

* * *

Author's note: Thanks for reading! The next chapter will have a little bit of chemistry between Mia and one of the guys. Can you guess who it is? Please let me know what you think so far! I love hearing your comments!

~FriedPeaches


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 - Puerto Rico

Once breakfast was over, Barney decided to head to a local clothing store with Mia. They both climbed into his black truck and Barney noticed Mia's wandering eyes. He didn't say anything as he cranked the truck's engine. It roared to life and had a nice low rumble to it. The garage door opened and Barney slowly pulled out onto the street. "What year is your truck?" Mia asked.

"1955," he said with his eyes on the road.

"Had to be expensive," she commented. Glancing at her, he saw her eyes still taking in the interior.

His eyes went back to the road. "You know a lot about trucks?"

"Not really," she replied as her attention went to the streets. "My grandfather was a grease monkey. Built his own diesel truck from the frame up. He loved building stuff."

It was only a ten minute drive before they arrived at the store. Barney gave her a credit card. "I promise I'll pay you back for these clothes," she told him.

He shook his head. "Don't worry about it. We'll figure it out in the end. Just get what you need and boots… Buy some good leather boots."

"Okay. I'll be back then. Thanks again." Mia slipped out of the truck and made her way into the store. She quickly scanned through the women's section. The thought of making Barney wait long outside made Mia rush. She always hated making people wait on her.

After thirty minutes, Mia had gathered three outfits, leather boots, socks, underwear, a couple bralettes, a canvas backpack, hygienic products, and make up to cover the bruises. She charged the items to the card and met Barney back outside. Tossing the bags in the passenger's side, Mia climbed back into the seat. "Ready?" he asked her.

Mia threw on her seat belt and nodded. "Yeah."

Not much was said on the way back to the Tool's place. They both slipped out of the truck and made their inside. Mia told him she was going to change before going upstairs. Tool was with a client in the front of the building. Barney knew he had some time to himself, so he went to his laptop. He wanted to find all the information about Mia that he could.

.

The rest of the day was uneventful as Barney and Christmas prepared everything for the morning. For a couple of hours, Mia sat out on the balcony that was just off the loft upstairs. She listened the street noise, enjoyed the smell of food, and studied the surrounding buildings' architecture. They had to be close to the French Quarter. Beautiful green and dark purple plants draped over the black cast-iron railings. The weather wasn't too hot which made it perfect for her to spend hours outside underneath the shade of trees.

The memories were rattling in her head as she watched the passing people. Her gaze softened as Mia ran her fingers over the burns. She wondered how long they and her bruises would take to heal. She pressed her lips together before letting out a sigh. There was a knock at the door that led outside to the balcony. Mia glanced over to see Barney stepping outside into the evening light. His brown eyes fell on her. "Dinner will be here in thirty minutes."

She adjusted herself in the seat to face him. "Thank you."

Barney brushed off her words with a simple, "No problem."

"What time are we leaving tomorrow?"

"Around 5. You think you're up to going back?" Barney asked.

She hesitated for a second before answering. "I'm fine."

He instantly called her bluff. "You hesitated."

Mia's eyebrows creased together. "I'll be fine. I know you need me for whatever this guy has done. It's obviously important and you guys saved me. It's the least I could do."

Again, Barney was surprised by Mia's words. She never said much, but when she did, her kindness showed. "Alright. As long as you think you're fine," he told her. "I also need to get your wounds before dinner. The last thing you want is infections." Mia agreed and they both went inside. He pointed to the bathroom. "Everything is in there." She entered the bathroom and Barney followed. Mia stood awkwardly as he retrieved everything he needed from the cabinet. Barney patted the counter. "You can sit up here."

She nodded and hopped up on the cold surface.

Barney gently began cleaning the burns. He first wiped them down with warm water before drying with a cloth. There were about twenty burns. So it took a little time to treat each one. Mia was wearing a black tank top, making the cleaning process easier. As Mia sat there, she silently kept her eyes on the tile floor. The burns were still very much sore and she could tell Barney did his best not to hurt her. She felt herself slip back into her memories. It was the men putting out cigarettes on her skin. The hot searing pain and the smell of burning flesh overwhelmed her senses. At some point, Mia knew she had to be screaming. But she doesn't remember. She just assumes she did.

Barney put on some antibiotic ointment and covered them with bandages and gauze. He noticed that she hadn't said anything for a couple minutes and saw her deep in thought. Just like Mia, he didn't say anything. He got some rubbing alcohol and cotton balls to start cleaning the skin that split underneath her eyebrow. Reaching up with the cotton ball, Barney saw Mia's attention quickly shift back to reality.

She flinched when his hand was close to her face. Red colored her freckled cheekbones after realizing her actions.

"You good?" Barney asked, lowering his hand.

She nodded. "Yeah, sorry. I just got stuck in my head for a second."

There was a moment that passed between the two of them. Barney could guess what was going through her head. He could read the raw emotions that flashed in the blues of her eyes. It flickered between panic and pain. Barney nodded and proceed to bring the cotton ball back up to her face.

Mia was slightly uncomfortable with how close Barney was to her, but she tried not to show it. For the first time, Mia observed his dark salt and pepper facial hair. He had a chin patch and a moustache that connected to each other. Then the smell of cigar and cologne filled her nose. It was a sweet and smoky scent that was intoxicating. She closed her eyes as he continued.

The ends of his fingers were rough and calloused. They tickled her skin and for once, she began to let her guard down.

.

Mia still felt tired from the weeks before and knew she needed all the rest she could get. There was no surprise when the memories showed back up in her dreams. This time it was the memories of them water boarding her.

Mia woke up and sat in the dark. Her clothes clung to her sweaty skin as she tried to slow down her breathing.

Was she ever going to sleep again without seeing those memories?

Even though she wasn't in that room with those men anymore, it still felt like it sometimes. She was trying extremely hard not to show the damage that had been done to her. Maybe Barney and his team already knew and could see straight through Mia's mask. She didn't want to break just yet. Maybe if she never accepts what happened to her, it'll just go away. Mia wanted to believe that lie, but she knew it wasn't true.

.

Mia simply listened to Barney and Christmas talk and joke around. She could tell how close they were and guessed they have worked together for a while now. Even though these men probably knew ten different ways to kill her with a pencil or paperclip, they seemed like a nice group of guys to hang out with.

"Hey, you doing okay back there?" Barney called from the front.

"Yeah, I'm good!" she said over the rumbling engines and gave him a thumbs up.

In a few hours they were back on the Island. Mia felt weird getting off the plane to see the familiar rolling mountains in the distance, the bright vegetation, and the sounds of exotic birds. The air was hot and humid, making her remember why she never bother styling her hair during the wedding trip.

Barney and Christmas took Mia back to the resort and booked a room for them to stay in. She was quiet as they checked in, taking in the surroundings. The resort was beautiful and modern. Most of the walls were glass that let the guests take in the outside views.

The wedding couple that had hired Mia for their wedding, flew her out from the United States. It was obvious they were loaded and had no problem paying such a high price for the location. Mia could only imagine how much their ceremony, after party, food, wedding dress, and etc cost. Mia sure there were probably costs that she hadn't even thought of. "How much do you think it costs to get married here?"

Barney and Christmas glanced over their shoulders. Then looked around the lobby. "More than I want to know," Barney answered.

"Easily five figures," Christmas commented and Mia shook her head.

"I just don't get it. Wouldn't people rather buy a house instead?" Mia asked in a confused tone.

Christmas chuckled. "If they can afford a wedding here, I'm sure they already have a nice house."

"You never know… Some people honestly care too much about their weddings," Mia told Christmas and adjusted the strap to her bag. "It's like women who want a $10,000 engagement ring, $20,000 dress, and then expect a wedding here. I'll never understand…"

"People pay that much for a __dress__?" Christmas asked in disbelief. Mia smiled at his reaction and nodded.

"For some reason, yes." Then the woman at the front desk gave them the keys to the room, pulling them out of their conversation. Barney thanked the woman and they left the lobby.

The room had two queen beds, a couch, kitchenette, sitting area, a large bathroom, and a small terrace. Mia let her bag fall to the floor and she instantly went outside. It was mid morning now and the sun sparkled against the aqua waves below. They had a perfect view of the beach. It wasn't until now that Mia realize how much she missed her camera. She had been too busy being stuck in her head. It may just be a camera, but to Mia, it was an extension of herself. It was the only way for her to show people how she saw the world and how truly special everything was. That was her favorite way to see the world - through the lens of a camera. Each photograph she took was unique. There was no one else that could create what she did and that's what makes art so beautiful. Each person is different so no art is the same.

.

The three of them spent the day walking around the grounds of the resort, trying to jog Mia's memory. By the end of the day, they were no closer to finding her camera. Mia felt embarrassed that she couldn't remember much from that night. Not only was her kidnapping a mystery, but she was still missing her $2,500 camera. Barney tried to reassure her that it may just take time for her to recall everything that had happened. Deep down she wondered if he believed his own words.

It was late and both men had fallen asleep. Barney was on the bed while Christmas slept on the couch. Mia laid in bed for a while - too scared to fall asleep because of her nightmares. A small, gruff snore could be heard from Barney as Mia got out of the bed. She grabbed her bag off the ground on the way to the bathroom. Once she had the door closed, she flipped on the light. Mia slipped on a knitted cardigan that was a dark navy. It complimented the bit of red she had in her amber hair and her light blue eyes. She also wore a white tank top, blue jean shorts and her brown leather boots. Her hair was in untamed beach waves thanks to the humidity. But luckily, the makeup was holding up great. There were only a few spots she had to touch up.

Before Mia quietly slipped out of the room, she snagged the fifth of whisky and a coke from the fridge. If there was a moment in life when she deserved every drop she was going to drink, __it was now. __Once she softly closed the door behind her, Mia made her way to a balcony at the end of the hallway. She could hear the music playing at the bar on the other side of the Lobby. It wasn't too loud, but regardless, the bar wasn't what Mia wanted.

She didn't feel like being around strangers tonight. She guessed tonight was the night to drink alone. People say it's best not to drink alone, but that didn't stop her from making her way to the dirt trail that lead to the beach. The beach was dark and empty. It was almost one in the morning. The moon was full that night and lit up the sky and passing clouds.

She got a couple of meters from the tide and sat in the cold sand. Opening the top of the bottle with a __Pop!__, she took two big swigs to start. The liquid burn the back of her throat and then down to her chest.

The rushing and crashing of the waves soothed her buzzing mind. A cool breeze made her shiver and she placed the bottle in the sand. Buttoning up her jacket, Mia tried to stay a little bit warmer.

"What are you doing?" A British voice demanded - nearly making Mia jump out of her skin.

Mia froze and peeked on her shoulder. Letting out a sigh, she presented the bottle to Christmas. "Drinking."

One of his eyebrows rose. "Drinking?" he repeated and she nodded. "Uh-huh." He eyed the bottle that was hardly missing any whisky. Maybe one-tenth of the bottle was gone. "Alright, time to get back to the room."

Mia frowned at him. "Just a few minutes? Please. I really need this right now and I just got here," she admitted and turned back to the ocean. "It helps."

Christmas was more than annoyed with her for scaring him in the first place by disappearing in the middle of the night. He was worried that something had happened on their watch. Again, the whole liability thing came into play. "I'll give you twenty minutes if you promise not to do this shit again," he threw back.

Immediately, she agreed and Christmas sat down next to her.

Christmas held out his hand and Mia handed him the bottle. He took a big swig of the amber liquid. Neither of them said anything at first so he silently took another sip. "You should be resting," he commented and she nodded. Christmas set the whiskey down between the two of them. "We're going to keep searching for your camera tomorrow morning. Barney likes to get up early."

"Yeah, I know. I'm having a hard time sleeping."

The English man nodded. "It'll be hard to sleep normally for a while. You'll probably want to go talk to a doctor once everything is over."

Mia didn't say anything as silence fell over them. She took the bottle and gladly let the burning liquid down her throat. Making a soured expression, she began to cough. Mia covered her mouth out of embarrassment and tried to keep her coughs at bay. Christmas chuckled. "Not much of a drinker?"

She shook her head. "No, not really," Mia wheezed out and took a gulp of coke as a chaser. "So have you guys been captured before? You seem to know how people react to this kind of stuff."

The whisky was given back to Christmas before he answered. "Yeah, just part of the job."

"You're…trained killers, right?" She began to stammer over her words to correct her question. "I mean, I already know that, but what's your job title exactly?"

"Mercenary."

"Ah, I see," she said and studied the man who wore sweats and a plain tshirt. "Barney said you guys weren't military. How about CIA?"

He frowned and shook his head. "No. They're all assholes."

Mia smiled. "Yeah, they always seem a little uptight."

"Beyond uptight," Christmas corrected with a grin playing on his lips.

The smile on Mia's face grew a little smaller after a moment. "So will the nightmares go away?" she hesitatingly asked.

Christmas paused to let the question sink in. He wondered how honest he should be with the woman. Guilt bubbled in his chest at the thought of lying. Lying wouldn't make it any better for her. He pressed his lips together and let the grin slide away. "Part of it will always be with you." His eyes fell on the burns and then went to her face. The moonlight danced on her high cheeks bones as the wind ruffled her wavy hair around her face. Her arms were over her chest and her hands gripped the knitted jacket for warmth. "It gets easier over time though - the nightmares and everything that comes with it," he told her.

Mia's blue eyes trailed back to the waves of the ocean. "That's good," she whispered. She took a moment to ponder the last couple weeks. Drawing her legs into her chest, she rested her chin on her knees. "Some dumb luck I have," Mia muttered with a light tone. Christmas studied her as she grew quiet. She let out a small laugh. "I got the short end of life." Mia then motioned towards her height. "__Literally__."

Christmas laughed softly. "Yeah, how tall are you?"

"Five foot even," she replied. Christmas's laugh grew louder and she playfully glared at him. "Hey! I'm just happy I hit five foot."

He threw up his hands defensively. "Count your blessings I guess." Christmas let his arms settle back down in his lap.

She snatched up a seashell from the sand to throw it into the moving water. "Especially the fact that you shrink as you get older. My five feet is only temporary," she sighed.

A playful expression of pain showed on Christmas's face. "That __sucks.__" Mia nodded and grabbed the bottle to take another sip. Again, she began coughing. Christmas rolled his eyes and got up from the sand. "Come on. It's time to get back to bed," he told her and held out a hand. "Let's go."

Mia pouted at his hand and reluctantly took it. "Fine," she sighed. He pulled her up off the ground. Mia began to lose balanced, tipping to the side a little.

"Whoa," Christmas muttered and grabbed her shoulders to re-balance her. "You really don't drink that much, huh?"

Mia rolled her eyes at him. "Alright, English man. I get it. My Irish ancestors are ashamed of me," she laughed and began walking back to the trail. Christmas soon followed after her. They walked next to each other as they made their way back to the room.

"You realize how stupid it was to go off on your own, right?" Christmas asked and Mia nodded.

"Yeah, I know. Sorry," she apologized and sheepishly glanced down at the ground. "I just needed some way to get tired."

Christmas' eyebrows rose in surprise. "You've been up for almost 24 hours and you're not tired?"

"Yes and no," Mia replied. "It's because of the nightmares. I've had trouble sleeping. That's all."

They arrived to the door of their room and before Christmas opened the door with his key, he took one more sip of the whiskey. He then handed it to her. "One more swig to help you sleep?"

Mia smiled at him and gladly took the bottle. Again, it burned her throat then chest. "__Fuck__," she coughed and patted her chest. "I now remember why I don't…" In mid sentence, Mia trailed off as her attention went to a flickering light in the distance. It was a warm glow that fluttered against the white walls. __I now remember…__

Christmas watched the gears in her head begin to turn as she took a couple of steps away from the door. "Mia?"

Mia didn't take her eyes away from the dancing light and whispered, "They have a firepit. My drink was on it when I went to get food…" Then it clicked. "That's how I got drugged. Marco said he would watch my drink…"

"Who's Marco?" Christmas asked and Mia finally turned back to him.

She was silent for a moment before answering.

"He's the bride's brother."

* * *

Author's note: Finally, Mia is starting to recall her memories! Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter! It was a long one! Please let me know what you're think so far with Mia's interactions with Barney and Christmas and how the story is progressing. I'm still trying to figure where I want this story to go. Thanks again!

~FriedPeaches


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 - A Sinking Feeling

Barney turned over onto his right side and tried to adjust the pillow underneath his head. That's when he saw one of the room's lights was left on. He sat up in bed and rubbed his tired eyes. Glancing over to Mia's bed, he found it empty. His attention then went to the empty couch. Barney threw the covers off him as he search to find either of them in the room. Maybe they were on the terrace? No. That too was empty. There was no sign of Mia or Christmas. He quickly pocketed his revolver before going to leave the room.

Mia and Christmas made their way to the end of the hallway and looked out to the lobby. The music was still softly playing while a cool breeze rustled the surrounding palms. Christmas watched Mia's blue eyes shift to the stairs that were to her left. Mia lightly grasped the wood railing and slowly made her way down the stairs.

Behind Christmas he heard a door open. He turned to see Barney with a confused expression. "Where's Mia?" Barney asked and Christmas nodded his head towards the stairs. When Mia came into Barney's view, he observed the woman pause at the bottom of the stairs. Her back was facing them, but Barney could see how tense her shoulders were.

It felt like forever for Mia as the memories flickered through her head. They were fuzzy and disorienting. She could remember the laughter…chattering people….dishes clanking…a smiling man.

__Marco__.

He was a couple of years older than the bride - around forty years old. They had different hair colors, but shared the same green eyes. Her hair was a light chestnut brown while his was jet black. He was handsome and had a very charming smile. His face was diamond shaped and he had a strong jawline that match his personality. It was obvious he knew how to take control of a conversation without being an ass. He even helped Mia when she took pictures of the newly married couple once they officially said 'I do". Maybe that's why Mia trusted him with her drink when she had to go to the bathroom. He was so nice to her.

Once the party was winding down, it was the first time Mia was able to put her camera down and grab a drink from the bar. At some point Marco had come over to ask about the pictures she had taken. He wondered how they turned out. After a minute of talking, Mia excused herself to the bathroom with her camera draped over her shoulder. She was always selfconscious about misplacing her expensive equipment.

Mia returned to Marco and her drink and then their conversation became a blur. She remembered having two more cocktails before she called it a night. _"___Sleep well, Mrs. Brooks," he told her after she told him goodnight.__ Mia felt her stomach turn. She turned around to see Christmas and Barney observing her from the top of the stairs. Then her eyes traveled down the stairway.

__Mia stumbled up the stairs and giggled a little to herself. She entered her room and slipped off her shoes. Plopping on the bed, she sat and went through the pictures on her camera. At some point, she noticed her vision starting to become fuzzy. Mia knew it was bedtime for sure. __

That must have been when Mia began to black out. The last things she could remember was four silver screws in her hand and just as she was about to get ready for bed, an arm grabbed her from behind.

"I don't know why I thought I was drunk," Mia spoke up. "I only had three drinks…Marco, the bride's brother, had to be the one that drugged me."

"The bride's brother?" Barney repeated.

Mia nodded. "He asked me after the wedding reception about the pictures."

"Did you figure out where your camera is?" Christmas asked and she shook her head.

"No, but it was in my room the last time I remember. I had to hide it somewhere in the room. I'm really paranoid about my camera. Maybe that's why they never found it."

Barney glimpsed at his watch and then to Christmas. "We'll see if we can get a key to your old room. It's too late to ask the front desk though. We'll ask in the morning."

Christmas' eyes went back to Mia who now was staring up at him. Her eyes glistened in the light and her hand was still gripping the railing. The other held the whiskey bottle. This time her grip was tight. Christmas didn't see much emotion from her as they locked eyes. Her face was relaxed, her lips were slightly parted, and her eyes searched his. She looked numb and emotionally detached. It was a clear that she was suffering from PTSD. He had guessed that at first when she talked about her nightmares and how timid she's acted. He felt sympathy for the woman. She was living a normal life before all of this.

When Christmas studied her face, it still surprised him to find out from Barney that Mia was pushing 33 years old. He couldn't have sworn she was around 5 years younger. "We should get some sleep," Christmas spoke up. "Come on."

.

The next morning, Mia was woken up by Barney shaking her shoulder. "Time to get up," he told her.

"Okay, okay," she yawned and swatted his hand away. Mia sat up to fully wake up. Barney went to put his boots on while Christmas was out on the Balcony. She grabbed an outfit from her bag to go change into. Slipping on blue jean shorts, and an olive t-shirt, Mia began to reapply some make up to her face.

When Mia stepped out of the bathroom, it was refreshing for Barney to see the bruises hidden. Seeing her beaten made him uncomfortably angry. '__Oh, what people will do for personal gains…' __he thought to himself, leaving a bad taste in his mouth.

Christmas stepped back into the room and greeted Mia. "Good morning."

Mia let out a yawn before replying back, "Good morning." She threw on her boots and began stretching out her sore arms.

"You ready to go get that key?" Barney asked taking the last sip of his coffee.

It didn't take them long to get a key since the desk clerk recognized Mia.

They searched in and under everything. It only took about five minutes before Barney and Christmas concluded that Mia's camera had to be somewhere else. "Looks like they cleaned the place before housekeeping came. They said none of your stuff was in your room and thought you had left without checking out," Barney explained and turned to Mia. "Where else could we look?"

"It has to be somewhere in here," Mia told him.

He frowned. "We looked everywhere. It's not here." A sudden ring from his cellphone interrupted their conversation. Barney fished the phone out of his pcoket and said, "It's Caesar." Both men stepped outside to take the phone call - leaving Mia in the room alone.

She took a couple of steps towards the bed and ran her fingers over the white linen.

Mia could remember when she pulled the covers back to climb into bed that night. She was just about to get out of her clothes and go brush her teeth before she fell asleep on her feet.

__An arm grabbed Mia from behind and a hand clamped over her mouth, preventing her from screaming. The man had a firm grip as she began wildly kicking her feet in the air. She kicked over her items that were laying on the dresser, including a lamp, and managed to leave a hole in the wall after she kicked that too. Clawing at his hand, she tried to pry it away. Her vision was becoming more disoriented as the surrounding walls began to drip and blur like freshly new paint dripping down a canvas. Mia threw her elbow back into the man's stomach while she still had some strength. She then took the flesh of his hand into her mouth and bit hard. __

__Howling in pain, his grip loosen and she tried to scramble to get away. "Help! Somebody-" Her voice was cut off by the man wrapping the crook of his elbow around her neck - putting her in a sleeper's holder. He pulled her close into his body to get a better hold.__

__As he cut off her airflow, she began to see black spots. She let out ungodly gasps and looked up to see herself in the reflection of a mirror. It wasn't her beet red face that she took notice of. To her surprise, she saw Marco's face leaning over her head. His face was twisted into a smile as he watched Mia slipped into unconsciousness. __

_"___Sleep well, Mrs. Brooks."__

Mia's eyes fell on a picture that was hung to her left. She went to it and lightly pushed one corner of the frame. Behind it was the same hole she had kicked in. Above the dresser was a black mark that was probably from the lamp that was now missing. It probably had gotten broken when she kicked it. She let out a shaky sigh, wishing all of this had been a bad dream. Mia began to scan over the room again and tried to figure out where the hell she had put her camera.

"Four screws…four screws…" she whispered to herself. "Where did the screws come from?" Again, she looked under the bed and behind furniture, like both men had done. That's when her eye caught a white vent that was above her bed. On each corner of the vent were small silver screws. __Four screws.__ She eagerly jumped on the bed as the two men reentered the room. "Do you have a flathead screwdriver?" Mia asked, ignoring the looks of confusion from them. She tapped on the vent. "I think I put my camera in here. "

"I got one," Christmas said and climbed on the bed with her. "Watch out. I'll get it." Mia stepped off the bed to stand next to Barney. Within a minute, the vent was off and Christmas gently pulled out her camera. "You put your camera in a __vent__?"

Mia blushed. "Like I said, I'm really paranoid about my camera."

"Well, I guess you had every right to be," Christmas said and handed it to Barney. He placed the vent back on the wall and got off the bed. "Time to head back?"

Barney nodded. "Yeah, time to head back."

.

In under an hour, all three of them were checking out of the resort. They got back into the black truck that was arranged for their use when they first arrived. It was a late 90's, two-door Chevy and easily blended in with the locals' vehicles. Their bags were in the bed of the truck as they squeezed into the front seat. Mia sat in the middle while Barney drove and Christmas sat in the passenger seat. In Mia's lap was her camera. She silently fiddled with part of the strap to relieve some nervousness. There was a picture on her SD Card that was worth torturing her for. What could have she captured?

Lifting the camera up, she snapped a picture of the windshield and the road ahead. Neither of the men could be seen in the picture. It was just the canopy of trees that hung above and what little interior of the truck. Mia wasn't sure why she took the picture. Most of the time she just snapped pictures out of habit. She was always worried about missing a moment that was worth capturing. Laughing internally, Mia knew that way of thinking was what got her here in the first place.

__Oh, the irony.__

Suddenly a large SUV comes barreling out of a wooded area and slams into the their vehicle, just behind the back tire. Momentum sends them fish tailing on the dirt road. The truck's suspension groans as Barney frantically tries correct the truck so they aren't sent into a ditch. After a couple stomach-turning slides, he was able to straighten the truck out and stepped on the gas petal. The engine roared as the speedometer rose.

Mia tried not to slide into Barney or Christmas as the truck swerved, but the momentum was too strong. There were sounds of gun fire before glass shattered. "Get down!" Christmas ordered and grabbed Mia's shoulder. He pushed her body towards the floorboard. Leaning over her knees, she threw her hands over her head. Christmas leaned over her back to throw the small back window open. He begins to return gunfire back.

Barney glanced into the rear view mirror to see a navy blue SUV trailing close behind them. Light sparked at the end of the gun's muzzle as they continued to shoot. They were a couple of miles out and Barney knew he had to lose them or Christmas needed to take out the driver. The few cars that shared the road with them, Barney weaved passed them with ease. Mia could feel the vibrations with each shot that was fired from Christmas. Growing up in Georgia, she had been exposed to guns and shot her fair share of them. But this was different. There was no way for practice to prepare someone for return gunfire. Mia felt Christmas pulled himself off her back. He switched to the passenger window for another angle.

They finally broke out of the forest and the docks could be seen in the distance. However, there was a parked truck blocking their plane. This was not good. They were going to get bullets from the front and back. Barney cut a corner sharply and tried to lose the truck behind them. A couple of warehouse buildings surrounded the dock's entrance. "Christmas, get him off our ass!" Barney shouted over the loud firing.

Christmas growled under his breath and pulled the gun back in. Mia watched him release the empty magazine to reload it with a full one. He was back leaning out of the window within seconds. At this point, Mia wasn't surprise by his skills, she was simply impressed. Barney began cutting another corner while Christmas continued to shoot. He flew down the street and had his eyes on the waiting men near the plane. He pulled his revolver out of its holster, preparing for more gunfire. Christmas squeezed off a couple more shots and the bullets from behind ceased. They saw the SUV disappear behind one of the buildings. Christmas turned forward with a satisfied expression as he pulled out another from the glove box. Mia sat back up in the seat. Her ears were ringing, making the world muffled. "There's five more ahead," Barney said as he began to plan with Christmas. They were getting closer to the dock as the two men mentally prepared for more fighting.

To their surprise, the SUV from before came flying out of a small alleyway between the buildings. It t-boned their truck, veering them off the road. This time Barney wasn't able to correct them in time as the tires spun in loose dirt and sand. The truck went over an embankment and was sent straight in the ocean.

Mia let out a scream as the front of the truck dove into the blue water. Her head whipped back and the windshield cracked under the impact. The side and back windows were open, letting the cold sea water rush in. Barney and Christmas were luckily not buckled in. However, Mia was. The truck bobbed on top of the ocean's surface for a moment before it began sucking it under. "Barney, my came-" Mia was cut off by them fully sinking under the waves.

Author's note: I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter! Please let me know what you think so far and your predicts for upcoming chapters! I hope my story is going at a good pace - not too slow or fast. Thank you for reading! And thank you to the readers who have left reviews! I really appreciate it!

~FriedPeaches


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7 - One Step Closer

Water rushed into the truck and it began sinking. Barney and Christmas swam out of the open windows. Turning around, Barney looked to see if Mia had followed. Mia had her camera cross her chest while trying unbuckling the seatbelt. The sounds of moving currents, rising air bubbles and the truck's metal groaning filled her ears. He tucked back into the vehicle to help cut Mia loose. Slicing the belt with his large knife, he grabbed her wrist to lead her out of the truck. Barney still had a hold on Mia as they made their way up to the surface. Before reaching it, he stopped swimming and put a finger over his lips, signaling for her to be quiet.

They both took a gulp of air as soon as they broke the surface. Wrapping his arm around Mia's waist, Barney pulled her into him. He placed her next to the wooden columns of the pier. She scrambled to grab onto it, scraping off shells and sea barnacles in the process. Once she had a grip, he too held onto the wood. Mia felt out of breath, but tried not to breathe too loudly. A pair of boots heavily made their way on the dock before pausing right above their heads.

__Where's Christmas? __Mia thought worriedly.

Her eyes landed on Barney's face to see it stern and his eyes were staring above. In his right hand was his gun. Barney knew if he shot now, him and Mia would become easy targets for any of the men above. He tried recalling the number of men in the SUV and on the pier. With the number in his head, Barney's gaze went to Mia. She too was looking above. Worry was etched on her face as she continued to hug the wood. He got her attention when he leaned into her. "Stay here," Barney whispered into her right ear. In the process, his chin and lips unintentionally brushed against her wet hair. She reacted to the touch by turning for their eyes to meet. She nodded. Barney took off the large knife that sat on the waist of his pants and then lightly grabbed at the top of her shorts, pulling her closer to him. His large fingers firmly held her in place as he strapped it to her belt. His eyes went back up to the pacing feet, but still had Mia close to him. "Don't make a sound," he quietly told her and again, she nodded. Barney then wordlessly dipped under the water, leaving her alone.

Mia tried to calm herself as her nails dug into the wood. This was obviously their day to day life, but the fact death literally loomed over her head made Mia wondered how they did this. Her heart was racing as she listened to the shouting above, the waves lapping on shore, and the cawing of the seagulls. There was this moment of heart hammering silence between the two teams of men. It sent a shiver of adrenalin down her spine.

A pair of gunfire popped off and then there was return fire. Since everything was out of view, all Mia could hear of the loud commotion was shouting and the guns. The smell of charcoal and sulphur got caught in the sea breeze. It tickled her nose and reminded her of fireworks. After a few minutes, the shooting stopped for a brief moment. Mia sank a little lower in the water as an ominous feeling slipped tightly over her skin like a wetsuit. "Come on, Barney," A voiced called above her. "Since you haven't gotten on your plane yet, I'll assume Mia is still alive." Dread tickled her stomach as she pressed her lips tightly together. "Where's Mia?"

She couldn't go back with them. No. Her sanity wouldn't handle the pain and torture this time. "If you don't let us pass, it's only going to end one way," Barney yelled back from the end of the dock.

"No." There was a pause from the man. "There are two ways. She is no longer of importance to us once we have the camera. Just hand over the camera."

Mia heard Barney let out a chuckle. "You know that's not going to happen."

Again, there was a pause and Mia heard him unholster his gun. The metal weapon noisily shifted in his hand when his grip tightened. "Hm, I had guessed that," he reply with an uninterested tone. Without hesitation he began firing his gun below him, right in Mia's direction.

__Bang!__

__Bang!__

__Bang!__

Mia quickly went under the water to escape. The bullets created trails of air bubbles as they whizzed by her swimming body.

The next couple gunshots were muffled by the water and turning waves of the ocean. Mia kept underwater to swim towards the end of the dock where Barney was. Beautifully colored fish littered underneath the pier; They too were seeking shelter like Mia. She strongly pumped her arms and legs against the moving water. More bullets darted around her. A sharp, searing pain bit at her left calf, but she knew she couldn't stop. Mia finally reached the end of the dock to raise her head cautiously out of the water. On the dock was Barney and Christmas hiding behind wooden shipping crates. She grabbed the deck to pull herself up, surprising both men. They rushed over to her and pulled her up. "Keep low," Barney quietly grumbled and eyed her bleeding calf as she slipped into his plane. Waiting those long seconds of gunfire was agony for Barney. He thought there was a chance that the man had killed Mia after he was the one that told her to stay. It was almost a grave mistake on his part. She would have sacrificed herself for helping his team. Sure, Barney had lost men before, but he never could get used to the feeling of self-sacrifice. To know that someone died for the same cause you're fighting for... It makes you feel a certain way.

Mia quickly climbed into a seat and strapped in while Barney sealed the door. They were luckily a step ahead of the men since they didn't know Mia and the camera were now safe. Barney fired up the engines and a commotion rose outside. They began firing at them as Barney guided the plane out of the water and into the sky. He knew the plane could take the heat; it was a tank. He turned the plane around to face the dock head on. Christmas slipped into the nose of the plane where two 50 calibers waited for him. The guns cut loose and begin spraying the men below with bullets. There were misty clouds of blood when Christmas hit his targets. Some jumped out of the way to take cover.

When flying over the dock, Barney flips a couple of switches to let gas rain down on the dock and men. One last time, Barney circled the plane around, giving Christmas a clear shot. Christmas leans out of the hatch and fires a flare gun. The pier ignites, sending men and parts of the dock into the salty water. As the structure begins to crumble, Barney glides the plane out of danger and into the horizon.

Christmas closes the hatch and reenters the cockpit. Both men were out of breath and soaked down to the bone. The plane was silent as Barney tiredly reached for an unlit cigar. He lit it and set the aircraft on the course it needs to be on. Taking a long drag, Barney exhales the smoke out of relief. He flipped a couple of switches on the control panel before speaking up. "Mia has an injury on her leg. Could you get it while I get this thing on autopilot?"

Christmas nodded. "Sure."

He exited the front and went back to where Mia was. She lifted her head as he entered. Mia's stern expression faded and a small smiled grew on her lips. "Hey," she greeted.

"Hey, I need to bandage you up," he told her, nodding towards her bleeding leg.

She looked down at her leg. "Oh," she replied in a surprised tone. Christmas got the first aid kit and sat next to her.

Christmas patted his legs. "Put your leg up here." She listened and turned herself towards him. Carefully setting it on his legs, Christmas adjusted her leg to get a better view. "You were shot, but fortunately, it just grazed it. Still took out a small chunk though."

Mia took a glance at her calf to see it bleeding freely. There was a split in her skin that was almost an inch wide. The bullet had cut through what fat she had on the back of her leg and exposed some of the muscle. "I didn't think I had gotten shot. It didn't hurt that bad."

"It's your adrenalin. That's why you're still shaking," Christmas commented as he cleaned the wound. Mia's blue eyes fell on her trembling fingers before clinching them. "It'll wear off soon. Give it about twenty minutes. " His voice was soft and reassuring. Christmas wrapped the gauze around her calf after it was cleaned.

"How did you get use to them shooting at you?" Mia asked as he finished up.

Christmas shrugged while fastening the gauze."I guess after so long, you just get used to it. I don't really think about it anymore." He gently put her leg back down on the floor. "Just rest until we get back," Christmas told her and then got out of his seat to leave her.

"Oh, wait," Mia called and Christmas turned back to her. She snatched her camera out of the seat next to her. Water dribbled out the lens as she open a side compartment. She pulled the SD card out to hand to him. "I'm hoping the water didn't damage it."

"We'll have to see when we get back. Thanks," he replied and placed it into a pocket on his vest.

After about an hour, Barney grew restless and got out of the pilot's seat. "I need to stretch my legs," he commented. Christmas was in the other seat, whirling his knife between his fingers. He nodded before Barney exited.

When he first saw Mia, she was angrily pressing the buttons on her camera. Small droplets fell on the floor and she sighed in frustration. The screen of the camera was black and continued to stay black even when she flipped the 'on' switch.

On.

Off.

On.

Mia gave her camera one last glare before letting it fall from her hands. The device loudly clattered on the floor and the glass in the lens cracked. "Dead?" Barney piped up.

"Salt water always kills electronics - especially expensive cameras," she replied with a bitter tone.

Barney took a drag from his short cigar and leaned against the metal wall. For a fleeting moment, he was unsure what to say. Guilt still scratched at his gut and it was hard to find any words. "How's the leg?"

"It just hurts. Nothing I didn't expect from being shot," she said lightly

Barney nodded as some of the tension faded. "Yeah, that's a given," he said trying not to smile.

Mia adjust herself so she could rest her head back against the seat. "How much longer until we get back?"

She watched him glanced at his right wrist. "Around a hour and a half. A little after two o'clock."

Mia's eyes widened and her tired face showed surprise. "__Holy shit__. Only half of this day is over," she groaned with realization."And you guys do this all the time, right?"

Barney shrugged "Yeah. It depends on the mission though. Some are harder than others."

"Why do I feel so out of shape around you guys?"

"Because compared to us, you are," Barney laughed and a playful smile grew on Mia's lips. She then turned to stiffly lift her leg up on the seat to rest it. She begins to roll her ankle in a circle to stretch her calf muscle. "Christmas said the bullet got some of the muscle?"

"Barely," she replied.

"It's going to leave a hell of a scar."

"At least I get something cool out of it then," she joked.

Barney had to admit, she was taking things a lot better now. In the beginning she was a little shellshocked and reserved, but now, he was starting to see glimpses of her personality. She's a little tougher than he realized. While snooping, he found records of her parents' death when she was at the age of twelve. She went to live with her grandparents who ran a farm in rural Georgia. She has already been married once, but divorced after two years. One year ago, she inherited all sixty acres and a beautiful farm house after her grandmother's passing. Mia probably grew up helping out with the farm; Which means her life wasn't shy of pain. "You probably got used to that on a farm, huh?"

Mia's eyebrows creased together ever so slightly and a flash of confusion swept over her face. It then dissipated. "Ah, right. You're a mercenary. My information was probably pretty easy to find then."

Barney wasn't going to lie. "Fairly easy," he admitted.

"Yeah, that's a given," she said, repeating his words from before with a chuckle. "Anything you didn't find during your search?"

_'___A lot actually,' __Barney thought. Reading files on someone only gives a glimpse of their life - not who they are. He didn't even know who Mia truly was. Why was he so interested? Maybe her mystery was something new for Barney to figure out. He had only pulled back the first layer of Mia. "Not that I'm aware of," he said and took a drag of his cigar.

"Hm," she hummed and peeked out of one the windows. "At least, I make your job easy." Barney studied her face as she curiously stared out into the horizon. The sunlight lit up her eyes to an icy blue. The color reminded Barney of winter and it's blue hues.

"Why did you stay on your grandparents' farm? Most people try to get out of small of towns when they can," Barney asked.

She turned back to him. "It's paradise for me. I don't like being around people too much. It's just myself and nature. Well, my cousin lives on the property too. She's my second hand on the farm. But I prefer the solitude and peace that I get," she explained as a satisfied smile grew. "There's wild blackberries, deer, all the room to grow our own food, flowers, and silence… That's the one thing that we don't get enough of now. Just peace and quiet."

MIa's bright face reflected how passionate she was about her family's home. Again, more of Mia was slipping through the cracks. "I can't argue with that." Barney was always the kind of man that like time to himself and didn't understand why most people weren't home-bodies. There's nothing like relaxing with a beer, cigar, and nowhere to go."Wait, won't your cousin be looking for you soon?" Barney asked.

She shook her head. "No, I normally go hiatus after being on a big business trip. I have a small cabin in The Smokey Mountains that I like to escape to every now and then. It was my parents' before they passed, but my grandparents gave it to me when I turned eighteen. She won't know I'm missing for another week."

"Hopefully, everything will be over by then," Barney told her. He brushed his fingers tiredly through his hair and glanced at the doorway to the cockpit. From this angle, he could see Christmas' feet that were propped up.

"Do I need to worry about them going after my cousin?"

Barney crossed his arms and shook his head. "I don't think so, but I'll let you know if I think she's in any type of danger," he reassured her.

She nodded. "Thank you."

Like always, Barney brushed her appreciation off. "No problem. Just get some rest before we land. We'll need to go through your pictures when we get back. I need to go back to the front and see where we're at," Barney told her and excused himself.

When they finally got back to Tool's shop, everybody was there. Tool, Caesar, Yin Yang, and Toll Road sat around a table that Tool and Caesar were playing pool on. "Hey," Barney greeted and all of them eyed the three soaking adults.

"Well, I'm hoping you got what you went for," Tool threw over his shoulder and took a shot at the ball. The heavily tattooed man cursed when he missed the shot.

"Thankfully," Barney said and Christmas tossed the SD card to Yin Yang.

"Would you mind if you start going through those?" Christmas asked. "I need to get to out of these sticky ass clothes and shower." Yin yang nodded and slipped away to find a laptop.

Barney agreed and left to begin unloading the truck. By the time he was done, Mia had silently slipped away. His gazed lingered on the loft's elevator for a moment before Caesar pulled him out of his thoughts. "What else did you guys find out there?"

"The bride's brother is involved somehow. We need to pull the names from the venue and see if it's just him or his entire family that's involved," Barney explained. He rested against one of the building's support columns and instantly regretted it when his clothes stuck to the metal. "He was the one that drugged Mia before kidnapping her. There must be someone with access to the hotel also. It took less than twenty hours for them to know we were there."

Toll Road spoke up from across the table with his arms crossed. "Do you think they're still keeping tabs on her?"

"I don't know," he admitted. "Now that we have the SD card, I expect their attention to now be on us."

"Do you think it's okay to let Mia go then?" Toll Road asked.

Caesar turned to the table and took another shot. "I could see them using her against us. They're already capable of keeping tabs on her. I don't know if she's completely out of danger just yet," he said.

Whether Barney liked it or not, Caesar had a point. Until all of this was over with, danger loomed over Mia's head. Hopefully they can figure out what clue is hiding in her photos before Pressmen makes his next move.

Author's Note: I hope you guys had a good New Year! Thank you for keeping up with this story. Please leave your thoughts! I love hearing them!

~FriedPeaches


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8 - The Man in the Dark

After Mia was done showering, she slipped on a pair of black leggings and a cream, short-sleeved tunic. It was the last outfit she had after her duffel bag went into the ocean. She cringed at the thought of having to ask Barney for new clothes again. She opened the bathroom door to air out the steam. She turned back to see on the floor laid her wet clothes. She took off the belt and large knife that was attached to it. Laying the belt on the counter, she unsheathed the knife and studied it. The blade alone was at least seven inches long and had an extremely sharp edge. Man, what she would have done if she had one of these while she was captured.

She could remember all the times she was tied up and begged for them to loosen them. They made sure to make them tight, but not tight enough for her to lose a hand. The same rope that held her at bay as she pulled and struggled. No matter how much she fought, there was no way for her to break out.

__One of the men puffed smoke out around her. There was a blindfold over her eyes, making her world black. He smelled of body odor and somewhere in the room laughter could be heard. "Tell me where your camera is and all of this will be over," the man said as he stood behind the chair she was tied to. "If not, we're going to keep doing this."__

_"___I told you. I don't remember where I put it. I can't-," Mia whimpered and was cut off when the man placed a cigarette on her pale skin. She screamed and tried to pull away from it.__

__After a second, he flicked it off to the side. Mia's heart was pounding and her tears mixed with the sweat that dribbled down her skin. Letting out a shaky breath, Mia heard the men around her chat to each other in Spanish. Sounds and voices echoed off the walls. Her mind was buzzing with adrenaline and pain. She continued to cry silently as she listened to him light another cigarette. __

_"___Mia, are we going to have to do this all day?" he asked before placing a hand on her shoulder. __

Mia whipped around with the knife in her hand and tried slashing the man. Even though she was faster than he thought her to be, Barney caught her wrist with ease. Mia stared in bewilderment as reality set in. In front of her was Barney; not the man who had been torturing her. She was in the bathroom of Tool's loft; not that musty place. "Mia?"

"I'm sorry," she quickly told him as she glanced at the hold he had on her.

Barney was very surprised to be greeted by his knife when he placed a hand on her shoulder. He was going to ask if she was okay after she hadn't answered him. Her arm was trembling before he let it go. Mia placed the knife down on the counter. Her face didn't read PTSD - it screamed it. "I was seeing if you were done with the bathroom. I need to shower," he explained. "Are you okay?"

She stood there for a moment with her eyes on the floor. "I don't know," she admitted and glanced back up to him. "I keep having these rushes of memories. It randomly happens."

He nodded with a softened expression. "Yeah, those are flashbacks. It happens after a traumatic event. It's PTSD. That's why you keep having nightmares too," he explained.

"Great," she said sourly and sheathed the knife. Mia went to hand it back to him, but he stopped her.

"No, keep it on you just in case. I have plenty of knifes anyways." He pushed the knife back to her. He wouldn't say it out loud, but he hoped it would give her some kind of security and ease her anxiousness. "If you're hungry, Tool made some gumbo," he told her, changing the subject.

Barney watched her eyes light up. "Food sounds great."

He smiled and pointed out the door. "It's downstairs - on the stove."

She thanked him and left the bathroom. On the way down, Mia stuck her wet boots outside to dry. It was another nice day in New Orleans. The sun's rays warmed Mia's skin and made her nightmarish memories fade away.

After taking the elevator, Mia stepped out of the shaft and into the common area where the guys were eating. Yin Yang was off to the side on a laptop, clicking away through Mia's pictures. She passed the three men sitting at the table and walked over to Yin Yang. Peering over his shoulders silently, she studied each of her picture before he went to the next one. "Your photography skills are very good," the Chinese man commented without taking his eyes off the screen.

Mia smiled sheepishly and fiddled with the end of her tunic. "There's definitely editing to still be done though. There's always a lot to fix."

"I know," he told her and clicked the keyboard once again. "But editing can only do so much for a poorly taken photo."

Mia could tell he was politely telling her to the take the compliment that he had given her. She has always had a problem with taking praises from people. "True," she agreed and let him get back to searching. There was at least six hundred photos for him to go through. It was going to take a couple hours. The time was getting close to four o'clock now and the day was slowly coming to an end. She scooped out the gumbo into a bowl and sat in an open chair.

"How was the trip for you?" Caesar asked Mia as she took her first bite. The rice and sausage was heavily flavored with earthy and spicy seasoning. It also contained green peppers, onions, tomatoes, and okra. The flavor exploded in her mouth.

She took another bite before answering Caesar. "I'm still amazed how you guys can handle missions like that."

The large black man chuckled. "Just part of the job. You get used to it," he explained.

Mia glanced at Christmas with a small smile. "Yeah, so I've been told." Her attention went to Tool. "Thank you for the food. It's very good," she said politely. "And for letting me stay here. I have no idea where I would be without you guys."

Tool nodded at the young woman. "It's no problem. I'm glad you're enjoying the food."

"I'm not going to lie though, Tool," Toll Road spoke up. "I feel like something is missing inthe gumbo. Don't you normally add something else to it?"

"Sometimes I put chicken in it. Besides that, I don't know if there's any other type of meat I like putting in gumbo," Tool said.

"Shrimp is good in it," Caesar commented.

Tool shook his head. "Eh, sometimes. Shrimp is usually better in a shrimp boil."

"What about rabbit?" Mia questioned. "Rabbit would be great in it. It's a lean meat."

"Hm, I've never tried rabbit before," Tool said pondering over the idea. "I don't even know where you would buy rabbit."

Mia chuckled. "Yeah, normally you have to go to a specialty butcher shop and can be a little pricey. It's just cheaper to get it yourself."

The men paused as they took in her statement. "You mean like hunting?" Caesar asked and Mia nodded. "Didn't think you were the hunting type."

"I'm from rural Georgia; I would have been ashamed of my grandfather if he hadn't taught me," she joked. "I was taught to use all the resources that I could around me - which included hunting. I grew up poor as my grandparents struggled to make ends meet. So he would go hunting in the mornings when doing chores around the farm. Morning is the perfect time for hunting deer and rabbits. When I was old enough, around fourteen years old, I took over it as he finished up what chores I couldn't. We would gather whatever was in the garden or root cellar and have it with what we killed that morning."

"Sounds kinda like an old fashion way to grow up. Did you hate it as a teen?" Tool asked.

"No," she said and took a sip of water. "I preferred it. I've always been in love with nature; even as a child, my grandparents would literally have to threaten me to come inside once the sun was down." The men around her chuckled at the thought of a smaller and younger version of Mia being dragged back into the house by two angry grandparents. "It's what got me in photography." Christmas watched the woman chuckle at the memories. "But once I got a camera and was older, my grandparents didn't mind me being gone all night. I'm sure they were just worried about my safety when I was younger. Too many wild animals at night."

"What's the worst you could have ran into? A deer or maybe raccoon?" Caesar teased and got up to put his empty bowl in the sink.

"More like wild hogs, packs of coyotes, and the occasional black bear or bobcat," she corrected.

Christmas nodded with an amused expression."Yeah, I could see why your grandparents threatened you back into the house at night." It was nice to see Mia more relaxed as she had some bants with the lads. The black and purple that she wore around eye was fading and was replaced with a sickly yellow. He knew it was going to take another week for it to be fully gone, but it was good seeing she was healing well.

The elevator started up and down came Barney who's hair was still wet from the shower. He silently nodded at the group and got some food. Taking Caesar's now open seat, he sat to eat. "I have a couple of clients coming in soon. I'll leave you guys to it. I got to get my stuff together," Tool said while gathering up his dishes. "Do you fellas know what you're doing next?"

Barney shook his head. "We'll figure it out soon enough. Once we do, we may have to fly out."

"Well, if Mia needs to, she's welcomed to stay here," Tool offered and Mia smiled thankfully at the man.

"Okay, sounds good," Barney told him and glanced at Yin Yang at the computer. "We'll let you know when we do."

The rest of the day was spent waiting on Yin Yang to finish up. For a little while Mia watch Tool tattoo a guy in his mid 40's and then some hot brunette that began hitting on Tool during the session. The whole interaction was entertaining to say the least. She silently gave credit to Tool as he wittily returned the flirtation back to the woman. Later during the night, all the men gathered around the laptop as Yin Yang pointed out anything worth sharing. Yin Yang tried to find a picture of Marco, but to their disappointment, he had avoided getting his face in any picture.

Luckily Barney was able to figure out what the wedding had really been for. There was no actual wedding and it seemed to be a cover for a drug transaction. There were a few of Pressmen's men in a few pictures, including Quinn. Mia shivered involuntarily when she saw his face. That son of a bitch had been watching her like Marco had.

"Hey Mia, do you want a drink?" Tool asked at the right time and Mia pulled her eyes off the screen.

"Sure," she said and went over to his collection of bottles. As Tool rambled on a bit about how each alcohol tasted, Mia only partly listened as her attention was on Barney and his men. She only heard bits and pieces about Pressmen, Marco, and Quinn. There were some names she hadn't heard before now. She could remember Christmas asking her about Pressmen. _"___Does the name Pressmen ring any bells?" __Mia wondered who this man was and how her kidnapper was linked to him.

She gladly drank the whiskey and tried to tune out a headache that was coming on. There were flashes of Quinn and Marco that played through Mia's head. _"___Yeah, those are flashbacks. It happens after a traumatic event. It's PTSD. That's why you keep having nightmares too," Barney explained. __Emotions swirled around in Mia's chest as she swallowed hard to regain herself. Today was the fourth day of being free from their grips. She cherished it with a smile and gladly let Tool pour her another drink after she was done with the first. Internally, she fought with herself to actually enjoy this moment. It was like pulling teeth for her. Something held her back. It was hard for Mia to put her fingers on. Part of her never felt like she left that dark room.

Mia thanked Tool and told him that she would be upstairs on the balcony. She knew she needed a breath of fresh air. Maybe that would clear her head.

It was a cool, humid night. She could tell it was going to rain soon. There was the smell of rain in the air. Mia sat on the balcony, taking in the lights and people that passed below. The soothing tune of a saxophone echoed through the streets from a nearby restaurant. It made Mia realize how much she missed the sound of a good jazz song. She took a sip of her whiskey and swallowed the burning liquid. The last thing she wanted was to cope unhealthily, but alcohol seemed to be the friend she needed.

She leaned back into the 3-seat corner sofa and propped up her legs on the seat next to her. Sinking into the navy cushion, Mia let herself relax and unwind. For a moment she felt like she was going back to normal; or at least, somewhat normal. In a week, Mia would have to go back into 'farm-mode'. Fall was just around the corner and there were things to be done before fall harvest. She knew Rosemary, her younger cousin, could handle most of it, but Mia was sure there were projects that are a two-woman job. It felt like someone had pulled her out of a mind-numbing experience and she had to quickly transition by into normality. It felt like she was in limbo. The feeling was strange and foreign. Between being mentally pushed to the edge and finally feeling a sense of security with these men, her emotions were overstimulated and exhausted.

The alcohol seemed to numb a lot of her nerves. She was finally able to relax for the first time since leaving that hell hole. Her surroundings felt fuzzy and warm. The city lights reminded Mia of the fireflies back at home as they began to slightly dance because of the drinks. That was when Mia decided that was enough drinking tonight. She listened to the music for about an hour before heading back inside.

She turned off the lamp before making her way to the bed. She peeled off her cardigan and dropped it next the to the bed. Flopping onto the soft bed, Mia groaned into the mattress. Her body was still sore from the last couple weeks and she never thought she would miss a normal bed so much. Whenever she got back home, Mia planned to stay in bed for a whole day underneath her quilt. She wrapped herself up in the comforter and didn't bother changing out of her clothes. She was too tired to care.

It wasn't long before she drifted to sleep.

At some point in the night, Mia was pulled out of her sleep by something. Maybe it was another nightmare… Sitting up in bed, Mia scanned the dimly lit bedroom. Her mind felt fuzzy as she shook her head to wake up better. She had been in a deep sleep before waking up. Barney wasn't on the couch tonight, leaving Mia in the room alone. Hanging her legs off the side of the bed, she grabbed her cardigan off the floor and slipped it on. The door to the balcony was open and it allowed cool air to spill in. __Huh, I guess I left it open, __Mia thought and got out of bed.

Peaking her head outside, she saw someone standing off to the side. They were observing the street below. At this time of night, there weren't many people on the streets. Most of them were probably drunk and on there way back home. It must be way past 3 AM. "Barney?" Mia asked in a sleepy voice and let out a small yawn. She wondered what he was doing up so late. Mia was sure they were going to leave at some point tomorrow to finish out their mission. Why would he be up so late?

When he turned around, Mia was met with a man in a black mask.

* * *

Author's note: Thank you for reading! Sorry it took a little bit longer than I wanted. One of my cats was missing for 15 days and I never felt in the mood to write. But I found him! :) Please let me know what you think so far. Thanks again!

~FriedPeaches


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9 - Into the Forest

When she saw the mask, dread tore at her stomach. Mia's scream got hitched in her throat as she turned to run. '__I can't go back!' __Mia screamed in her head. '__I don't want to go back!'__ She didn't bother closing the glass door behind her when she busted into Tool's bedroom. The knife that Barney had given her laid on the dresser next to the bathroom door. She pumped her legs hard and prayed to God for any help. Her hands slammed onto the knife. In a swift motion, Mia unsheathed the large knife and whipped around to slash the man. The masked man snatched her wrist in mid swing as he tackled her. Mia was painfully thrown back into the dresser and the two of them fought over the sharp blade for a moment. He began to twist her wrist while Mia refused to drop it. The man's grip was strong - way stronger than Mia's. A frustrated grunt came from Mia and she felt herself losing the battle. When It felt like her wrist was going to snap, she bitterly let it fall from her hand. His other hand went around her neck before he threw her back into the dresser. The back of her head smashed against the wood and metal knobs. Now both his hands were around her neck, cutting off any air. Mia thrashed and tried punching him; however, he was just out of reach. The lack of oxygen began to take an effect on her. After a minute, her actions became weaker and sluggish.

This wasn't the way she wanted to die. Mia hadn't even been able to see Rosemary or her home after being kidnapped. The memories of her and Rosemary sitting by the small pond on her property flashed in her head. Then there were the men again, burning cigarettes into her flesh. And then, there was her grandparents smiling from the front porch of their late 1800's farmhouse.

With the last bit of energy she had, Mia swung up her legs. She took advantage of his unwavering hold he had on her that supported her weight. Her left leg wrapped around the back of the man's neck, locking him in place, and she landed a solid kick to his face with her right foot. There was a satisfying crack from his nose before he cursed loudly. His grip began to loosen; She kicked him hard again. And then again as she still had a hold on him. She finally dropped from the injured man and fell to the floor. Mia was loudly gasping and coughing as spit dribbled down her chin. Her head was pounding while her limbs tingled uncomfortably. It was hard to scramble for the knife when her arms felt like jello. She dug her nails into the hardwood floor and quickly clawed her way to her weapon. As soon as she had a grasp on the handle of the knife, Mia was flipped onto her back by the man. He swung his legs over her small hips and landed a punch to her face. The world around her spun and in a daze, she felt him snatched the knife from her hand. "No!" she screamed when she lost the knife.

Mia could see the way the light reflected off the metal of the blade and time slowed down. She could taste her blood on her tongue; it was a bitter iron taste, making her stomach turn. His weight held her down as she attempted to escape.

There was a single gunshot and a hot, misty cloud of blood sprayed over Mia. The man's body slumped to the side. She didn't notice to who had taken the shot and began kicking the dead man's weight off of her. Out of instinct, Mia went after the knife again and pulled it from the masked man's hand.

"Hey, hey!" A voiced yelled out and she brought the knife up to guard herself. "Mia, you're good," Caesar told her and held up his gun. He turned on the light, making Mia squint her eyes. She didn't realize how dark the room had been. She guessed the street's lights could only light up so much.

Mia's head buzzed with confusion at first. She went from fighting for her life, watching her life flash before her eyes, and then safety. She was safe again... Relief washed over her like a wave and tears welled up in her eyes. Mia blinked them away as she fell back onto her butt. She loosely held the knife in her right hand as the other tried wiping the blood off her face. She was still breathing hard. "Did you see anyone else?" Caesar asked glancing into the bathroom.

When he turned back to her, she shook her head. "No." As her mind was becoming less fuzzy, a thought struck her. "Where's everyone else?"

"Down stairs. We had a couple of 'visitors' come through the back door, but everyone is okay," Caesar told her and behind him the elevator rumbled alive.

After a moment, the elevator brought Barney up. He was alone and had a few bloody scrapes, but nothing serious.

Barney was eager to make his way up stairs to check on Mia. He had heard her scream and then a gunshot. He had guessed that Caesar had made it in time, but wasn't a hundred percent sure. Before that he had heard loud noises coming from up stairs while they fought off the ten other men that came through the back door. He was honestly surprised they had found their location so quickly and wondered where they were getting their intel from. That was something else they were going to have to worry about now. When the metal gate open on the elevator, Barney stepped out to see Caesar was the closest to him while Mia was near the bed. Her skin was stained with blood and looked like a different person entirely. The ponytail she wore was now half down while her blue eyes were widen with fear. There was always a sliver of joy that you could read in Mia's eyes, but it was now gone. Once she realized it was Barney, she slightly relaxed. She looked stunned and still had the knife in her hand. He could tell her adrenaline was wearing off as she wore exhaustion on her face. In front of her, laid a man with a gunshot that went through his back and out of his chest. Mia's eyes were off to the side as she tried not looking at the man.

Caesar turned his attention to Barney. Barney nodded and he put his gun away. "They need your help down stairs," Barney told him. "We got to get rid of the bodies before sunrise." Caesar agreed and went to grab the body. Mia silently observed him pick up the man and throw him over his shoulder. It looked like nothing to the large black man as he sauntered back to the elevator.

"Thank you, Caesar," Mia called to him before he pressed the button to go down. That's when Barney saw the blood that colored her white teeth. He was sure that the noise he had heard before was the struggle between the two of them.

A small smile grew and he replied, "It's no problem." Then he closed the gate and went down.

Barney walked over to Mia and gently took the knife out of her hand. At first, she held it tightly - not letting go. "You can put the knife down," he said to her and her fingers loosened. It was almost like she couldn't tell herself to let go; she was still on guard. She let out a shaky breath and her trembling hands closed the front of her gray jacket. "Are you okay?"

"I think so," she said and rubbed the back of her head a little. The pain was starting to set in and Mia hadn't realized how hard she was thrown around by the man. "Just sore. He almost had me." She paused. "He got really close to-"

"I know," Barney cut her off. He wouldn't let her finish that sentence. Around her neck were two bruises coming in and her lip was busted a little. She looked down at her clothes and hands. A pained expression fell over her face. Barney silently helped her off the floor and sat her on the end of the bed. Mia rubbed her red wrist while staring at the bloody floor.

"I guess the guy on the dock lied, huh? I'm still a target."

Barney squatted in front of her, getting down to her eye level. "Pressmen was probably after the SD card like before and thought it was a good moment to tie up any loose ends," he explained and she grimly nodded. "We're going to have to move locations."

"To where?" she asked.

"I don't know yet, but we're leaving in an hour. You'll need to pack everything of yours. I would shower first though," he lightly told her.  
Again, she nodded. "Yeah, that's a good idea," she said and took off the jacket. Her pale skin was flushed; probably from her blood pumping hard moments ago. Barney knew Mia was a quiet woman, but for some reason, her silence bothered him. She got up from the bed and went to the bathroom without saying a word. He stood up from his squatting position, listening to the shower be turned on. Then the sound of muffled crying came from the other side of the door. There was no other word, besides helpless, that could describe how he felt. Mia didn't ask for any of this to happen to her. She was living a normal life before being thrown into the world of guns, death, and violence. She was a strong woman and seemed to be handling all of this better than Barney expected. But he also could see that she wasn't built for this life. Her small frame was a disadvantage and she didn't know how to correctly deal with an opponent. Sure, she could learn how to defend herself, but she could never change her size.

Mia was holding her duffle bag as she waited in the common area. She nervously waited for their next destination. There was no control over this situation so all she could do was hope for all of it to be over soon. A heaviness sat on her chest, making it harder to breathe. That was the second time she watched a man die. The first time was when Christmas rescued her and Barney from Quinn. Mia wondered how long it would take for someone to become numb to killing people. It seemed like to Barney and his team that this was just how their job worked; kind of like being a police officer. At some point, you may have to kill someone for the greater good. It was a hard reality to watch first hand. Tool entered the room first and Mia smiled at him. The few days she was here, Mia enjoyed Tool's company. All of them were a little rough around the edge; however, they were the nicest people she had met in a while. After him, the rest of the team soon followed behind Tool. "We've decided on bringing you to a safe house in Montana. It's remote and should be extremely hard for Pressmen to find you," Barney explained and glanced between Yin Yang and Christmas. "One of them will stay with you while the rest of us are away."

"Away?" she repeated.

Barney nodded. "We got some information from a resource of our's on where Pressmen may be. We'll be gone for a day - two at most. We're heading out now though and can talk on the plane."

"Okay," she replied and turned to Tool. "Thank you for all of your hospitality. Your food was very good," she politely thanked him. "One day, I hope to repay you."

The older tattoo artist agreed and they both shook hands. "Safe travels," he said and then went to the rest of the team to say his goodbyes.

Barney loaded up the back of his truck with his, Christmas' and Mia's Bags. They got in the truck and began following behind Caesar's black F-250 truck. Mia sat in the middle like before as Christmas sat in the passenger seat. The sun was just beginning to peak over the horizon, coloring the sky in beautiful hues of pink and tangerine orange. She wondered what part of Montana they were flying to since their plane seemed to be only for water landings. When they arrived at the dock, they all gathered their things and boarded the plane. Mia strapped herself in and waited for them to get into the air.

The men talked among themselves, going over the details of their mission and making jokes. Mia found it so interesting to see this side of mercenaries. They were trained killers, but were still just like you or I. She admired their bravery and wondered if she could ever do the same. They went day in and day out fighting and putting their lives on the line. Putting herself in their shoes was a strange thought. She could never envision herself as Barney or his team members. It wasn't what she was built for. What a badass thought of storming the enemy before defeating them. It also was a scary thought of not knowing if you'll make it out alive. Mia knew that feeling too well.

The flight was around six hours and they arrived around noon. The adrenaline made her crash an hour after the plane was in the air. She slept for four hours while the last hour was spent taking in the new landscape. Toll Road took notice of Mia's eyes that were glued to the window. "Ever been to Montana?" He asked.

She sheepishly grinned. "No, but I've always wanted to go," Mia replied not taking her eyes off the towering mountains that were in the distance. "This is the moment I wish I had my camera. My God, look at this scenery…"

"Alaska is a great place to visit too," he commented.

She began gushing over the idea. "I would love to see the last frontier. Go fishing and catch some wild salmon while you're there." Barney smiled up in the cockpit at their small talk. The more Barney got to know her, the more he realized how intertwined her life was with nature. Mia wasn't kidding when she said she loved nature. She was happy to throw away a modern lifestyle most people wanted and traded it for a harder life. One that you depended on your hard work and the land to provide for yourself. It seemed like a simpler life. "Do you see many mountain lions and bears up here?"

"Oh yeah. And wolves. They've got some big grizzly bears up here."

Her eyes lit up. "That's amazing. I heard they're around eight feet when they stand up."

"Around that height. It depends on the bear though," Toll Road explained. As Mia and Toll Road continued to talk about places they wanted to visit, Barney glided the plane down to Lake Mcdonald - just south of Polebridge. Barney put their safe house there knowing the chances of staying hidden were favorable. The town had a population of just over two hundred people. This was the kind of town where it was easy to go into the wilderness and disappear.

Barney got the things that Yin Yang or Christmas would need while they stayed at the cabin for the days ahead. They all piled into a large SUV that luckily contained a second row of seats. The very back row was just big enough for their bags and Mia. The drive up to Polebridge was bumpy and an hour long before they arrived to a small house a couple of miles outside the town. Barney avoided the center of the town so their vehicle wouldn't be seen by the locals. They would be ones to notice an outsider's vehicle. Everybody knew everyone in a town this small. Barney pulled into a dirt driveway and drove up to a single-story home with a barn off to the side. A few seconds after he parked the SUV, a man came out the front door.

Mia stood off to the side as the stranger went up to Barney. He was in his late 40's, around Christmas' age, and Both men greeted each other with smiles and a handshake. "Good to see you again, John," Barney said to the man.

The man was around six feet tall and by his built, she could tell that he had a similar profession as Barney. Around his neck were military dog tags and he wore heavy duty boots to match. He was bald but sported a thick handlebar mustache. On the top of his head was a black cattleman hat. It had a dented center and curled brim. "It's been a little bit," John chuckled and nodded at the rest of the team. Then his eyes fell on Mia. "And who's this?"

"This is Mia Brooks," Barney introduced and Mia leaned forward to shake the man's hand. She could tell he was trying not to take notice of the bruises and burns on her." She'll be staying at the safe house for a little bit."

"It's nice to meet you," Mia said and they shook hands.

"Same to you," John told her and turned to Barney. He pointed at the barn. "All your stuff still in the tack room and the horses are in the back pasture. You should have time to make it before nightfall."

Mia's face morphed into confusion. "Horses?"

"The only way to get up to the safe house is horseback. There's no roads," Barney explained and Mia grinned.

"Sounds good to me."

Author's Note: Thank you for reading this chapter! I hope you enjoyed it! Please let me know what you thought. Thanks again! Also, I hope everyone is staying safe during this Corona Virus (Covid-19) outbreak. I feel awful about China and all the people who have been affected. And to anyone in the USA, don't forget to wash your hands A LOT and stay away from large groups of people! It's just the beginning of our outbreak. Stay safe and heathy!

~FriedPeaches


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